Sapor Cafe and Bar

Rating:

Spend even a few minutes inside Target Field, and even the average fifth-grader could see that each sparkling inch of the place is designed to extract every last dollar of discretionary income from Twins ticket holders.

So where does that leave the neighborhood's restaurateurs, barkeeps and baristas, all salivating at the prospect of 39,000 out-on-the-town visitors landing in their laps 80 or so game days a year? If they've visited the ballpark, my guess would be nervous.

Then again, the Bull's-eye is so ingeniously plugged in to its downtown fabric that it's hard to imagine that crowds won't eventually spill out onto the sidewalks and explore their new surroundings. Which leads to the inevitable question, at least the kind fielded by people in my line of work: Where should we eat? Naturally, I have all kinds of suggestions, but I'll frame the dialogue this way: Where would I want to eat near Target Field?

It took a few seconds, but here's my answer: Sapor Cafe and Bar. Who knows for certain why this North Loop pioneer routinely falls off my dining-out radar. Is it the wallflower street presence? The who-knows-what-that-means name (it's Latin, for flavor)? The proximity to a bevy of attention-getting new neighbors (Black Sheep Pizza, Be'wiched Deli, Bar La Grassa) that have moved in up the street?

Read Full Review »